KENTUCKY COMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM

KCTCS | CATALOG 2017-2018

Kentucky Community and Technical College System300 North Main StreetVersailles, KY 40383877.KCTCS.4U (toll-free)877.528.2748859.256.3100

KCTCS COLLEGES

Ashland Community and Technical Collegeashland.kctcs.edu800.928.4256 (toll-free)

Big Sandy Community and Technical Collegebigsandy.kctcs.edu888.641.4132 (toll-free)

Bluegrass Community and Technical Collegebluegrass.kctcs.edu866.774.4872 (toll-free)

Elizabethtown Community and Technical Collegeelizabethtown.kctcs.edu 877-246-2322 (toll-free)

Gateway Community and Technical Collegegateway.kctcs.edu859.441.4500

Hazard Community and Technical Collegehazard.kctcs.edu800.246.7521 (toll-free)

Henderson Community Collegehenderson.kctcs.edu800.696.9958 (toll-free)

Hopkinsville Community Collegehopkinsville.kctcs.edu270.707.3700

Jefferson Community and Technical College jefferson.kctcs.edu502.213.5333

Madisonville Community Collegemadisonville.kctcs.edu270.821.2250

Maysville Community and Technical Collegemaysville.kctcs.edu606.759.7141

Owensboro Community and Technical Collegeowensboro.kctcs.edu866.755.6282 (toll-free)

Somerset Community Collegesomerset.kctcs.edu877.629.9722 (toll-free)

Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical Collegesouthcentral.kctcs.edu855.246.2482 (toll-free)

Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical Collegesoutheast.kctcs.edu888.274.7322 (toll-free)

West Kentucky Community and Technical Collegewestkentucky.kctcs.edu270.554.9200

KENTUCKY COMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM

16 COLLEGES/More than 70 CAMPUSES

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of the general education courses in the approved curriculum. The student must also provide evidence of successful completion of the American Heart Association Basic Life Support course for health care providers.

Special Exam: STEP or Challenge Institutionally developed and administered exams provide an opportunity to demonstrate mastery of course content and receive credit toward pro-gram requirements. The student must be accepted for admission and en-rolled in the college and apply for the exam through the Student Records Office. For more information, see “Tuition and Charges.”

Dual Credit KCTCS dual credit is concurrent enrollment in high school and a KCTCS college with credit awarded by both. A high school student may earn both high school and college credit (dual credit) for the same course upon completion of course requirements. College credit will be awarded for courses taken for dual credit with a KCTCS college upon the student’s completion of the course requirements, and will become part of the student’s official college transcript. The KCTCS assessment and placement and grading policies apply to dual credit courses offered by KCTCS. Additional information about dual credit should is available at the local KCTCS college.

Non-Classroom Learning ExperiencesWork Based Learning ExperiencesMany of the diploma and degree programs offered through the colleges have Work Based Learning included in the curriculum. Work Based Learning refers to the programs that offer academic credit for degree-related work experience during a specific semester. The experiences and credit awarded vary according to the program’s requirements. These experiences must be planned and supervised by the college and the em-ployer to ensure that the work experience contributes to the student’s education and career objective. The cornerstone of Work Based Learn-ing is Cooperative Education. Other programs that are considered part of Work Based Learning are Internships, Practicums, and Experiential Learning. These courses afford the student a unique opportunity to inte-grate formal classroom training with supervised work experience.

Service LearningStudents have the opportunity to enroll in service learning programs which are designed to integrate community service with academic in-struction as it focuses on critical and reflective thinking and civic respon-sibility. Service learning programs involve students in organized com-munity service that addresses local needs, while developing academic skill, sense of civic responsibility, and commitment to the community.

Credit for Prior LearningPrior Learning Assessment Portfolio students may contact any KCTCS college for information regarding applications for college credit via port-folio.

Modularized Credit CoursesSome KCTCS courses are available in a modularized credit format allow-ing students to register for courses that are components of the full (or “parent”) course. For example, BAS 212 may be taken as a three credit course or students may enroll in BAS 2121, BAS 2122, and BAS 2123 as separate courses which are the equivalent of BAS 212. The sum of the

modular credit courses is equal to the full course. The student transcript will display the modularized credit course in the term the student earned the credit and once all components of the full course are earned, the full course will appear on the transcript. Modular Credit Courses are des-ignated as a four digit number. The first three digits are those of the par-ent course. The last digit is the number of the modular credit segment/component, e.g., XXX 2021, XXX 2022, XXX 2023 or XXX 101A, XXX 101B, XXX 101C. When a student registers for a General Educa-tion modularized course, the student must complete all of the courses in that series to fulfill General Education category requirements, e.g., ECO 101 – 3 credits meets the Social & Behavioral Sciences category require-ment. If ECO 101 has three modules, ECO 1011, 1012, and 1013, all three ECO 101 modules must be completed before the Social & Behav-ioral Sciences category requirement will be fulfilled. The student cannot take three modularized courses from three different courses to meet the general education category requirement, e.g., ANT 1011, ECO 1011, and PSY 1101. Some modular courses require students to complete a Learning Contract upon registration which defines the student’s respon-sibilities.

Academic Policies and RulesPolicies Related to Enrollment

Student Load – Full-time StatusFull-time student academic status for the fall and spring term is 12 credit hours. Full-time student academic status for the summer term is 6 credit hours.

Student Load – Maximum Student LoadThe maximum load to be carried during any semester by a student (in-cluding residence, correspondence, and extension courses) is 19 credit hours or the number of hours specified in the curriculum for the particu-lar semester, whichever is larger.

A student who has attained a grade-point average of 3.0 on a load of at least 15 credit hours for the preceding semester may be permitted by the college president (or designee) to carry a maximum of three additional credit hours, provided the total is not in excess of 22 credit hours for the semester.

Normally, the maximum course load (including residence, correspon-dence, and extension courses) shall be four credit hours for the four-week intersession, six hours for the five-week session, seven credit hours in a six-week session, or 10 credit hours in the eight-week summer session. A student who has attained a grade point average of 3.0 may be granted permission by the college president (or designee) to carry a maximum of five hours in a four-week session, seven hours in the 5-week session, eight hours in a six-week session, 12 hours in an eight-week session, and fifteen hours in the twelve-week session.

A student on academic probation shall not take more than 15 credit hours in a semester, three credit hours in a four-week intersession, four hours in the five-week session, six credit hours in a six-week summer session, seven credit hours in an eight-week summer session and nine hours in the twelve-week session.

A student may be registered simultaneously at a KCTCS college and at another institution only with the approval of the college president (or designee), the credit hours obtained at the other institution being considered a part of the student’s maximum load. If the simultaneous registration has not been authorized, the transfer of credit from the other institution may be denied.

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Grading SystemThe grading system uses a series of letters, to which are assigned grade-point values. The system is based neither on an absolute numerical sys-tem nor on a distribution curve, but on the following descriptions:

A: represents exceptionally high achievement. It is valued at four grade points for each credit hour in non-remedial and non-developmental courses.

B: represents high achievement. It is valued at three grade points for each credit hour in non-remedial and non-developmental courses.

C: represents satisfactory achievement. It is valued at two grade points for each credit hour in non-remedial and non-developmental courses.

D: represents the minimum achievement for credit. It is valued at one grade point for each credit hour in non-remedial and non-developmental courses.

E: represents unsatisfactory achievement and indicates failure in the course. It is valued at zero credit hours and zero grade points in non-remedial and non-developmental courses. Credit may be obtained by repeating the entire course.

F: represents unsatisfactory achievement in a course taken on a Pass-Fail basis. It has no value in computing the grade point average. Credit may only be obtained by repeating the entire course. This grade may be used for developmental courses.

AU (Audit): has no value in computing grade-point average. A student who has been admitted to the college may elect to enroll in a course(s) as an auditor, except in selective admissions programs. Auditing courses in a selective admissions program requires admission to the program and availability of space in the courses. With few exceptions, any change from audit to credit by a student fully admitted to a college must be ac-complished by the last date to enter a class and any change from credit to audit must be made by mid-term of the semester or session in which the student is enrolled. An audited class may be taken for credit at a later date. Anyone who desires to audit a class must be admitted to the col-lege and officially registered for the course.

I: means that part of the work of the course remains unfinished. It shall be given only when there is a reasonable possibility that a passing grade will result from completion of the work. The instructor and student will discuss the requirements for completion of course with the time limit for completion not to exceed a maximum of one year; failure to do so will result in an automatic change of grade from I to E. Each college shall maintain a record of incomplete grades recorded in courses of that col-lege. This record, completed by the instructor at the time the I grade is reported, shall include: (1) the name and number of the student, (2) the course number and hours of credit, (3) semester or session and year of enrollment, (4) signature of the instructor, (5) a brief statement of the reason(s) for recording the incomplete grade, and (6) an adequate guide for removal of the incomplete grade. In the instructor’s absence, the division chairperson (or designee), shall forward to the college president (or designee) the appropriate letter grade to replace the incomplete grade.

W: represents a withdrawal from class without completing course re-quirements. A student may officially withdraw from any class up to and including the date of mid-term with a W grade. After the date of mid-term and through the last class of the semester or session, any student may officially request to withdraw from a course and receive a W which may be given at the discretion of the instructor. Each instructor shall state on the first or second class meeting the factors to be used in deter-mining if a student will be allowed to withdraw during the discretionary

period. An instructor shall not assign a student a W for a class unless the student has officially withdrawn from that class in a manner prescribed by the college. The grade of W may be assigned by the College Appeals Board in cases involving a violation of student academic rights or for aca-demic offenses.

P: represents a satisfactory grade in a course taken on a Pass-Fail basis. The student who receives a P in a course shall be eligible to continue into the next sequential course(s). The grade of P may be assigned by the College Appeals Board in cases involving a violation of student academic rights. It has no value in computing the grade point average. This grade may be used for developmental courses.

MP: represents Making Progress and may be assigned only for develop-mental courses and means that the student has made significant progress but needs and deserves more time to achieve a passing grade. The stu-dent should re-enroll in the course in order to continue advancement to the level of competence set for the course. Grades may be earned fol-lowing re-enrollment for developmental courses. The grade of MP has no value in computing grade point average.

Pass/Fail: may be selected for a maximum of two elective courses, sub-ject to certain restrictions, by students with at least 30 credit hours and not on academic probation. Courses with these grades can count toward graduation but are not used in calculating grade-point standing. Courses taken on a pass-fail basis shall be limited to those considered as elective in the student’s program, and such other courses or types of courses as might be specifically approved. Prerequisites for such courses may be ignored at the student’s own hazard. The student is expected to partici-pate fully in the course and take all examinations as though the student were enrolled on a regular basis. Students may not change from a pass-fail basis nor from a regular basis to a pass-fail basis after the last date for entering an organized class. Courses offered only on a pass-fail basis, remedial or developmental, or taken by special examination, shall not be included in the maximum number of elective courses which a student may take under these provisions

Changing Grades: A grade once reported shall not be changed except when the instructor states in writing that an error has been made. The grade change must be submitted by the end of the following semester or session or, in exceptional cases, at the discretion of the president (or designee). However, each respective College Appeals Board may change a grade to P or W in the case of a violation of student academic rights or to a W in the case of an academic offense.

Grade-Point Average (GPA): The GPA on the KCTCS transcript is de-rived from all courses taken at KCTCS institutions. The grade-point av-erage is the ratio of the total grade points earned to the total credit hours attempted excluding courses taken on a pass/fail basis and courses with grades of W or I. Total grade points are derived by multiplying the num-ber of credit hours for the course by the number of grade points assigned to the grade earned: A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D =1, E = 0.

Reporting Final Grades: The final grades for a course shall be filed with the office of the college president (or designee) by such date as deter-mined by the academic calendar.

Academic Probation, Academic Suspension, and ReinstatementAcademic Probation: A student earning a cumulative grade point aver-age below a 2.0 at the end of a term shall be placed on academic proba-tion. A student shall be removed from academic probation by earning at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average.

Academic Suspension (Dismissal): If a student is placed on academic probation for two consecutive terms (which is noted on the transcript as

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“subject to dismissal” the second time) and does not earn either a cumu-lative GPA or a term GPA of at least a 2.0 in the third term, the student shall be academically suspended. Non-enrollment has no effect on pro-bation status. The president (or designee) may grant an exception based upon an individual’s case. A student on academic suspension may not enroll in courses which count toward a KCTCS degree.

Reinstatement: A student who has been academically suspended may be reinstated by the president (or designee) after remaining out of the col-lege for at least one 16-week semester and providing evidence of ability to perform at the level required. A student who has been academically suspended shall, upon reinstatement, be placed on academic probation and be subject to academic suspension if the student has failed to earn a current term GPA of 2.0 during the first term of reinstatement. Upon a second suspension, a student may be reinstated by the president (or des-ignee) after remaining out of the college for at least two 16-week semes-ters and providing evidence of ability to perform at the level required.

Repeating a CourseA student may repeat a course for the purpose of improving a grade. The course must be repeated with the same grade option as the origi-nal enrollment in the course. The highest grade earned in a completed course shall constitute the official grade for the course and will be the only grade included within the cumulative GPA. Credit shall count only once for a KCTCS credential. If a student has been dropped from an occupation or technical program, course enrollment may be dependent upon readmission to the program. After a student has completed the same course twice, a division chair (or designee) in consultation with the instructor may refuse to approve a third registration in the same course, including those offered by correspondence, extension, and distance learning technology. Subject to the approval of the division chair (or des-ignee), a student may receive approval for a substitution of comparable courses (e.g. MAT 150 may be taken as a repeat option for MA 109 and vice versa.). NOTE: A parent course cannot be repeated using modules. Students who have received passing grade in a parent course are not eli-gible to enroll in any module of that parent course.

Final Exams Any student with more than two exams scheduled on one day as de-scribed in the college’s final exam schedule shall be entitled to have one of those exams rescheduled. The student must submit a petition for rescheduling in writing to the instructor no later than one week prior to the last class meeting.

Dean’s ListThe Dean’s List recognizes the academic excellence of students who have earned an overall semester GPA of 3.5 or higher in courses numbered 100 or above. Honorary certificates of merit are generally awarded to students who have achieved this distinction.

Academic Bankruptcy (Readmission after Two or More Years) A student who has been readmitted after having remained out of the KCTCS colleges for a period of two or more years, and who has com-pleted at least 12 credit hours in college-level courses with a GPA of 2.0 or better after readmission, may choose to have none of the course work attempted in the colleges prior to the interruption included in the computation of the student’s GPA. The calculation of the GPA after the student declares bankruptcy begins with the semester of readmission. A student who has elected not to count past work in the computation of his or her GPA will continue to receive credit for those courses in which credit was earned with a grade of A, B, C, D, or P prior to readmission, without including those grades in the computation of the student’s GPA.

A student who has completed a credential and re-enrolls may not apply the academic bankruptcy rule to courses taken for the credential already completed. A student may only use the academic bankruptcy option once.

Policies Related to GraduationGraduation Requirements For the Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Associate in Fine Arts, and Associate in Applied Science degrees, regardless of the time the student has attended the college, at least 25 percent of the approved curriculum credits must be completed at the KCTCS college granting the degree. For a certificate or diploma, the KCTCS college will grant credentials from its approved program inventory when a minimum of 25 percent of the required coursework has been completed within KCTCS.

Students seeking Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Associate in Fine Arts, or Associate in Applied Science degrees or Diplomas must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in order to be eligible for graduation. To be eligible for a certificate, a student must satisfactorily complete an approved curriculum with a grade point average of at least 2.0 in the courses required for the certificate.In order to be eligible to receive KCTCS credentials, students must satisfactorily complete the minimum number of credits required for that credential, including the general edu-cation requirements as specified in the KCTCS Board of Regents Policies 4.11 and 4.12 and program requirements, with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 and complete the college’s application for gradua-tion within the posted deadline for the term. In order to be eligible for:

• Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Associate in Fine Arts, Associ-ate in Applied Science, and Associate in Applied Technology degrees, students must satisfactorily complete 60 credits, including the general education requirements as specified in the KCTCS Board of Regents Policies 4.11 and 4.12 and program requirements, with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0.

• Diplomas, student must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 36 hours including the general education requirements as specified by the KCTCS Board of Regents Policies 4.11 and 4.12 and program requirements, with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0.

• Certificates, students must satisfactorily complete an approved cur-riculum with a grade point average of at least 2.0 in the courses re-quired for the certificate.

• Course substitutions may be made by the college president (or desig-nee) on an individual basis with the advice of the appropriate division chairperson.

Specific information about the requirements for these programs is avail-able below in the Academic Credentials Awarded section.

Graduation With Honors Students who have completed at least 45 credit hours of work toward degree completion or 30 credit hours of work toward diploma comple-tion in the KCTCS colleges shall be graduated “With High Distinction” if they attain a grade-point average of 3.60 or higher on all work at-tempted. Students who have completed at least 45 credit hours of work toward degree completion or 30 credit hours of work toward diploma completion in the KCTCS colleges shall be graduated “With Distinction” if they attain a GPA of 3.40-3.59 on all work attempted.

Multiple Associate Degrees A student will be eligible for an additional degree when the student has completed the requirements of the second curriculum including a mini-mum of six credit hours relevant to the second degree and beyond the

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requirements for the first degree. In no case will a degree be granted for the completion of a second option in a program. The completion of a second option, however, will be recorded on the transcript.

Kentucky Community and Technical College GuaranteeKCTCS colleges offer employers of graduates the following guarantee:

The KCTCS colleges guarantee employers that graduates have demon-strated competence in the skills listed on the approved task lists that rep-resent industry validated specifications for each occupational program. Should a former student be considered by the employer to be perform-ing below a satisfactory level on any skill on the approved task list, the colleges agree to provide specific retraining at no charge to the employee or employer. This guarantee extends for two years from the date of graduation.

The guarantee applies to all college graduates of occupational/technical programs who are employed in their field of training. The program en-hances economic development efforts by guaranteeing Kentucky’s busi-nesses and industries access to a skilled work force.

Academic Credentials AwardedAssociate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) General Education

Core Requirements AA AS

(2401015000) (2401016000)

Written Communications 6 credit hours 6 credit hours

Students who complete ENG 105 must take an additional 3 credit hours of General Education from any of the General Education categories

Oral Communications 3 credit hours 3 credit hours

Arts and Humanities 6 credit hours 6 credit hours

One course must be selected from Humanities and one course from Heritage

Quantitative Reasoning 3 credit hours 6 credit hours

Natural Sciences 3 credit hours 6 credit hours

One science course must include a laboratory experience.

Social and Behavioral Sciences 9 credit hours 6 credit hours

Two disciplines must be represented and different from those in the Arts and Humanities category.

Quantitative Reasoning OR

Natural Sciences 3 credit hoursSubtotal General

Education Core 33 credit hours 33 credit hours

Associate in Arts Requirements 12 credit hours

Select courses from headings in the Core Categories and/or Foreign Language (see pages 74 - 76). At least 6 credit hours must be selected from Arts and Humanities and/or Social and Behavioral Sciences and/or Foreign Language. Students are advised to choose hours to satisfy pre-major requirements at the institution to which they are transferring.

Associate in Science Requirements 12 credit hours

Select courses from headings in the Core Categories and/or Foreign Language (see pages 74 - 76). At least 6 credit hours must be selected from Quantitative Reasoning and/or Natural Sciences. Students are advised to choose hours to satisfy pre-major requirements at the institution to

which they are transferring.

Electives 15 credit hours 15 credit hours

Students are advised to choose hours to satisfy pre-major requirements at the institution to which they are transferring.

Total Credit Hours 60 Credit Hours 60 Credit HoursDegree requirements: 1) completion of minimum of 60 credit hours, 2) minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA, 3) minimum of 15 credit hours earned at the institution awarding the degree, 4) cultural studies course, and 5) demonstration of computer/digital literacy.

1Courses chosen to satisfy General Education requirements must be selected from an approved list which may be found in the KCTCS catalog at http://legacy.kctcs.edu/catalog/.2A course used to fulfill one category cannot be used to fulfill another category.

Transitional courses (courses numbered 001-099) cannot be used to sat-isfy graduation requirements.

The General Education Transfer Policy is in place between all public col-leges and universities in Kentucky, and the KCTCS policy regarding gen-eral education certification is outlined in the KCTCS Rules of the Senate, Section V 5.0.4. For more information see page 61.

Associate in Fine Arts (AFA)An Associate in Fine Arts (AFA) degree is designed to transfer into a Baccalaureate of Fine Arts (BFA) program at a four-year institution. It consists of a general education requirement of 24 credit hours, a fine arts core of 18 credit hours, and 18 additional credit hours of concentration for a 60 credit hour minimum.

General Education Component:

Written and Oral Communications 9 credit hours

Students who complete ENG 105 must take an additional 3 credit hours of General Education from any of the General Education categories to fulfill the remaining hours in the Written Communication portion of this requirement.Arts and Humanities 3 credit hours

The course chosen to satisfy this requirement must be from a discipline other than the discipline in the Fine Arts Core and/or concentration.

Quantitative Reasoning 3 credit hours

Natural Sciences 3 credit hours

Must include a laboratory experience for general education certification in the Natural Sciences category.

Social and Behavioral Sciences 6 credit hours

Total General Education 24 credit hours

Fine Arts Core

Sub-Total 18 credit hours

Concentration

Sub-Total 18 credit hours

Total 60 credit hoursDegree requirements: 1) completion of minimum of 60 credit hours, 2) minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA, 3) minimum of 15 credit hours earned at the institution awarding the degree, 4) cultural studies course, and 5) demonstration of computer/digital literacy.

1Courses chosen to satisfy General Education requirements must be selected from an approved list which may be found in the KCTCS catalog at http://legacy.kctcs.edu/catalog/.2A course used to fulfill one category cannot be used to fulfill another category.

Transitional courses (courses numbered 001-099) cannot be used to sat-isfy graduation requirements.